Continuous towel ironing structure



sept. s, 1970 A. KESSLER ET AL CONTINUOUS TOWEL IRONING STRUCTURE Filed March 17, 1969 l5 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 8, 1970 A, KESSLER ETAL CONTINUOUS TOWEL IRONING STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1969 FIGS .FIG 9' I N VEN TORS ALEC KESSLER 8 THEODORE ROSEN FIG. 4

ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. KESSLER ETAI- coNTINUoUs TOWEL IRONING STRUCTURE INVENTORS ALEC KESSLER 8x THEODORE ROSEN llnnlllllnnnnna ggonoeoaunann I.. I L

lllllli sept. s, 1970 Filed March 17, 1969 ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,526,981 CONTINUOUS TOWEL IRONING STRUCTURE Alec Kessler, 29489 Everett Ave., and Theodore Rosen, 29610 Everett Ave., both of Southiield, Mich. 48075 Filed Mar. 17, 1969, Ser. No. 807,744 Int. Cl. D06f 65/00 U.S. Cl. 38-2 14 Claims ABSTRACT or THE DISCLOSURE 'Ihe invention pertains to an ironing device for elongated strips of continuous washed moist toweling, in which rotatable rollers are iixedly supported and heated ironing shoes are mounted in a pivoted housing arranged to bring the shoes into engagement upon the toweling which is pressed between the shoes and the padded rollers. The shoes are preferably arranged in vertical alignment, electrically heated and suitably recessed to accommodate and complement the configuration of the rollers. The toweling iswound up into a roll upon a single shaft, which draws it from its at-rest position at the base of the machine through the ironing structure. As the toweling, now ironed, passes from the ironing shoes and rollers to the wind-up shaft, a blast of air is blown against the heated toweling so as to Idisperse and substantially remove the moisture remaining in the toweling. A modiiied form of the invention involves a duplex machine having a pair of such ironing structures, each |having a moist towelspreading device for automatically spreading the washed moist toweling before it enters the ironing structure.

This invention involves an improved construction over that previously disclosed and claimed in Kessler-Rosen U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,471 issued Sept. 3, 1968. In that disclosure we described a pair of heated hinged ironing plates arranged to bear upon and iron the toweling as it was ldrawn therebetween. 'Ihe toweling was drawn between the at portions of the ironing plates, as well as over rollers, placing a substantial pressure load upon the toweling. From there, it passed to a complicated roll-up mechanism.

The advantages of the instant structure include a marked simplification and improvement of` the mechanism for ironing the -continuous toweling and an improvement in the towel roll up mechanism portion of the device. By such improvements, the new structure can be embodied into a duplex combination which can operate substantially semi-automatically, if not fully automatically. An object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified continuous towel-ironing device embodying a heated shoe and a roller inspaced-apart relationship such that a washed moist towel can be introduced therebetweenand ironed, and an improved and simplified wind-up device for rolling the dried, or substantially dried toweling can be introduced into and drawn automatically through the ironing section and wound upon the roll-up shaft without continuous handling by an operator. Still a further object is to provide a multiple number of such ironing and roll-up devices and embody them into a single structure having common power means and controls for driving the wind-up shafts and heating the ironing shoes.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention and features of construction will become more clearly apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is .a front elevational view of a machine ernbodying the inventive concept, taken from the operators position.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top elevational view, partially in section, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. l.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in FIG. 1, partially in section, taken substantially on the line 3 3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary Vertical elevational view, partially in section, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a duplex machine, according to the disclosure illustrated in FIG. l, embodying means for automatically spreading a strip of moist laundered continuous toweling for introduction into the ironing portion of the machine.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the pneumatic air supply system for the air cylinders utilized in pivoting the heater housing and for removing the rolledup toweling.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the electrical wiring control circuit for operating the electrical heaters, the towel roll-up drive motor, and the fan motor.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged Vertical sectional view of a portion of the towel roll-up shaft.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, illustrating one form of a preferred embodiment of the invention. the continuous towel ironing structure 10 comprises a frame or housing 12 mounted upon a base 14, a towel ironing compartment or portion 16. and a towel roll-np mechanism 18.

The framing 12 comprises a housing 20 having a front -Wall 22, a side wall 24, a rear Wall 26, and a full height door 28 hingedly' mounted at one Vertical edge to a frame portion 30 adjacent the front wall 22. The housing 20 is also provided with a top plate 32 and is supported upon toweling into a roll. Another object is to provide a plurality of ironing shoes and complementary ironing rollers arranged in spaced-apart vertical alignment for ironing a'strip of continuous washed moist toweling. A further object is to provide a blower fan for passing air, which may be heated, directly to a surface of the ironed toweling as it issues'from the ironing shoe and roller portion to the wind-up shaft of the machine. Still another object is to provide simplified mechanism for supporting the heated ironing shoe or shoes, whereby the heated elements can be easily pivoted away from and toward the ironing rollers to permit facile introduction of the moist toweling therebetween. Yet another object is the provision of a moist towel spreading device in conjunction with and below the ironing portion of the structure, whereby and secured to the base plate 34 of the base 14. Within the housing 20 and secured to and between the front wall 22 and the rear wall 26 is a motor support shelf 36. A conventional door handle and latch combination 38 is mounted upon the door 28.

The towel ironing compartment 16 comprises the ironing shoe housing 40 having a front wall, top and bottom walls, and a pair of side walls, the ironing shoes 42. 42 supported in vertical alignment upon mounting brackets 44, 44 secured to an inner housing plate 46, a pair of ironing rollers 48, 48 mounted for rotation upon shafts 50, 50 in complementary association with the inwardly curved concave surfaces 52, 52 of the ironing shoes 42, 42 and a protective covering shield 54 secured to the housing wall 24 substantially about the ironing rollers secured to the housing front wall 22. Bracket member 55 is provided with a front wall 57, a top leg or plate 59 and a bottom leg 61.

The protective covering shield 54 for the rollers 48, 48 is secured to the housing side wall 24, preferably by welding, and is provided with an end plate 60 arranged in parallel with side wall 24 to support bearings 62, 62 for the shafts 50, 50 upon which the idler rollers 48, 48 rotate. Two of the support bearings are mounted upon the inner surface of housing wall 24 and two upon the end plate 60.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bracket 55 is provided on the inner surface of its vertical wall 57 with a yoke-type fitting 64 fixedly secured thereto. -On the inner surface of the housing wall 24 is a similar fitting 64 for pivotally supporting the pneumatic air cylinder 66 by a pin 68. The cylinder 66, having a conventional air piston structure therein, also has a piston pin 70 projecting therefrom and connected at its distal end by a pin 72 to the fitting 64 mounted upon the inner surface of bracket wall 57. The outer surface of bracket wall 57 provides support for bracket members 76 and 78 upon which the outboard towel guide bar 80 is xedly secured at their juncture 82. An end guide plate or collar 84 is adjustably secured upon and adjacent the supported end of the guide bar 80, an outboard end guide plate 85 being adjustably secured upon the bar 80'at a position suitable for guiding the toweling brought up from the base plate 34.

Secured to the bottom leg 61 of the bracket 55 are a pair of end supports 88, 88 for the shafts 90, 90 supporting the idler rolls 92, 92 thereon. A pair of spaced apart guide plates 94, 94 are adjustably positioned upon the rolls 92 for guiding the toweling from the guide bar 80 under the bracket 55 and the ironing shoe housing 40 for entry into the ironing compartment between ironing shoes 42 and rollers 48.

Fixedly mounted upon the top leg or plate 59 of the bracket member 55 is a fan-type air blower 98 having an electric motor drive 100 and an air discharge outlet 102 directed to the toweling as it issues from the upper portion of the towel ironing compartment and passes to the roll-up mechanism 18. The air blower 98 is supported on the top leg 59 by a bracket 104 fixedly secured thereto, and may be arranged in a fixed single position as shown, or it may be adjustably secured upon the bracket 104 so that it can be tilted or pivoted for blowing air against the toweling to best effect. Further, the blower 98 may contain an electric heating element for heating air as it enters or leaves the fan chamber of the blower. If such electric element is used, it can be connected in circuit with the fan motor 100. Or, air may be heated in an auxiliary chamber communication with the blower 98 and drawn thereinto upon operation of motor 100.

The towel roll-up mechanism 18 comprises the windup shaft 112 mounted in bearings 114, 116, the former being secured to a support plate 118 attached to the front wall 22 of the housing and the latter being secured to the side wall 24. An electric motor drive 120, secured to support 36, is connected to shaft 112 by a belt and pulleys of conventional construction. A valve controlled piston and pin type air cylinder 122 is secured to the housing side wall 24 interiorly thereof, the piston pin 124 projecting through an opening in the housing wall. A rolled towel push-off plate 126 is provided with an opening therethrough to pass the shaft 112 and is xedly secured to the distal end of the pin 124 and disposed in its normal at-rest position adjacent the housing wall 24. At one end of the air cylinder 122 and communicating with it is a manually operated compressed air control valve 128 having a manual control lever 130 projecting through a slot 132 in the front wall 22 of the housing.

As illustrated particularly in FIGS. 2 and 9, the windup shaft 112 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot or groove 113, in the area adjacent the roll push-off plate 126, and a holding bar disposed in the slot but spaced from the shaft body a distance suicient to allow the operator to slip an end portion of toweling T therebetween, and thus provide means for gripping the toweling while it is being rolled upon shaft 112. The bar 115 is secured to the shaft 112 in any suitable manner, for instance with a screw as illustrated.

Referring to FIGS. l-4 and particularly to FIG. 7 schematically illustrating the pneumatic air supply System, the conduit 152 connects to the source of compressed air 153 in the plant utilizing the machine 10. Conduit 152 communicates with an air pressure regulating device 154, which serves valves 128 and 156 by conduits 158 and 160, respectively. Valve 128, controlled by lever 130, is manually operable and through conduits 162 and 164 charges and discharges the air cylinder 122 which has a conventional piston and piston pin 124 that projects through the housing wall 24 and is connected to the roll push plate 126. Control valve 156, manually operated by lever 157, communicates with the air cylinder 66 by conduits 166 and 168 to move the heater housing 59 and the ironing shoes 42, 42 away from and close them upon the ironing rollers 48, 48.

The source of electrical power for the heaters and motors is preferably a 220-volt electric power supply system. The power circuit comprises a step-down transformer to reduce the voltage to 110 volts for the motors while supplying 220 volts to the heaters 182, 182 attached to and forming a part of the ironing shoes 42, 42. As shown diagrammatically and schematically in FIG. 8, the power line is connected to the electrical heaters 182, 182 through switches 184, 184 and control rheostats 186 and 188. The transformer 190 reduces the input voltage to the roller shaft drive motor and to the fan motor 100. The circuit to these motors is controlled by a foot pedal operated double switch 196 connected to motors 100 and 120 through the power circuit control box 197 mounted upon the housing wall 22 within easy access of the operator.

The duplex machine illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 comprises two machines 10, combined into a single unit. Each machine includes a towel spreading device whereby moist toweling is introduced to the ironing section directly from the spreader so that the duplex machine becomes semi-automatic and both sides of the machine can be operated by a single person. The principal difference in the duplex machine 200 over the single machine 10 resides in a unification of certain elements such as the unitary housing 12 supporting the common hinge pin 202 for mounting the heater housing 40 of each ironing device of the duplex unit. Each ironing and towel roll-up machine is substantially identical with that described in FIGS. 1 4, except that they are disposed on each side of the housing 12 in left-hand and right-hand attitudes.

Disposed below the heater housing portion 16 of each ironing section in machine 200 is the towel spreading de-V vice 220. Since they are each substantially identical to the other, being right-hand and left-hand units, only one of the two devices will be described in detail. The towel spreading device 220 comprises an outer housing 222, inwardly tapered rolls 224 and 226 rotatably mounted upon a common shaft 228, tensioning roll 230 shaft-mounted in alignment below the spreader rolls, and an idler beater roll 234 rotatably mounted upon its shaft 236 located substantially in alignment below the tensioning roll 230 and the spreader rolls 224 and 226.

The idler beater roll 234 is cylindrical in shape and is provided with a number of rows of extending fingers or flippers 237, made of a flexible resilient material such as rubber or polyvinyl chloride compositions, designed to intermittently strike the toweling as it issues from its folded state upon the machine base 34. This beating action helps to spread the toweling into a flat web of material.

The outer housing 222 of the spreader device 220 is formed as an open frame encircling the spreader and idler rolls. It is secured at the left side to the housing wall 24 for the left-hand unit and to the right-hand wall 30 for the right-hand unit. In the duplex machine 200, the door 28 is now disposed at the rear of the machine and is mounted about an opening in the wall 26, to provide access to the roll drive motors 120 and the air cylinders 66 associated with each of the two units of the duplex machine.

It will of course be understood by persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, that such modiiications as may be required in adapting machine as a left-hand unit or as a right-hand unit for the duplex machine 200 come within the skill of the art and the scope of the invention disclosed herein.

The operation of the single machine 10 will be first described. When continuous toweling, normally about 13S-150 feet 'in length by about 12 inches wide, is preparedfor washing and ironing in a conventional commercial laundry, where the inventive device disclosed herein is particularly adapted for use, it is arranged in a bundle, the toweling being laid back and forth upon itself in folds approximately 4 to 5 feet in length, forming a stack of'l-ayes. This stack is then tied into a bundle with wrap-around ties midway and adjacent the ends of the bundle. The bundle is then placed along with many other bundles and articles into a large washing machine, where it is washed, rinsed and tumbled more or less continually for a wash, rinse,A spin and partially dry cycle. Upon removal from the washing machine, the bundle of moist toweling is then transferred to the ironing machine diS- closed herein.'

The operator removes the Vties and-lays the toweling in its stacked layer arrangement upon the base 34, or in lan open top container C shown in broken lines in FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 6., Container C is optional and is not essential. The heater device 16 is pivoted outwardly away from the ironing rolls 48, 48 by actuation of the control lever 157 operating the control valve 156, whereby air cylinder 66 is charged with compressed air through conduit 166 to move the piston pin 70 outwardly, causingthe heater device l16 to pivot about the pin 56.-In this attitude, the toweling T can be easily passed upwardly between theironing shoes 42, 42 and the ironing rolls 48, 48v and then-drawn further upwardlyfor securement to the roll-upshaft 112. The right side of the leading edge of the toweling T is slipped under the resufficient to allow the switch to be positioned as the operator wishes or considers most practical for operation.

'Ihe operator, by holding the outer edges of the toweling T in front of the guide bar 80, manually spreads and guides the toweling so that it will extend substantially dat upon the bar I80 for its passage to the idler rolls 92, 92.

During its passage to the lwind-up 'shaft 112 and the roll being formed thereon, blower fan 98 blows air upon the toweling T as it issues from the ironing section to remove most or at least a substantial amount of water vapor from the toweling. An air heater may be provided as a supplement for the blower 98 to improve its efliciency under certain conditions. The speed of rotation of shaft 112 can be varied by the use of various conventional controls as desired or required.

In the duplex machine 200; designed for operation by a single person, a folded bundle of toweling T is laid in the container C of each ironing unit. The leading edge of one bundle is passed into and through the spreader device 220 according to the arrangement illustrated in in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in IFIG. 6, cause taining bar or member115 disposed in spaced relationship above the groove 113. A couple of turns of the shaft 112 by the operator removably` secures the toweling T to the shaft. Y Y 4'Manual control valve lever'157 his thenrotated to u operate valve 156 in the reverse-direction, filling the air the moist toweling to automatically spread itself substantially at before passage into the ironing section 16 and between the ironing shoes 42, 42 and the ironing rolls 48, 48. The tapered spreading rolls 224 and 226 are of conventional construction, having outwardly spiraling ridges or ribs on their tapered surface to assist in performing the spreading function.

In the duplex machine, it is not considered necessary to provide the guide bar v80 and its support members, or the idler rolls `92, 92 and their supporting structure, as the spreading function is performed by the spreader device 220 instead of by an operator as required for the individual ironing machine 10. However, these features may be retained and used if desired.

The leading edge of Vtoweling T is brought upwardly to the roll-up shaft 112 and one side of the toweling is inserted under the reaining bar 11S mounted in groove 113 of the shaft. The shaft is then turned manually a couple of times engaging the toweling thereon. The valve control lever 157 for the machine unit being set up is actuated to close the ironing section 40 upon the ironing rolls 48, 48, and the motor switch 196 is pressed by the operator to start the roll-up drive motor 120 and the blower fan motor 100.

lThe operator then moves to the other side of duplex machine 200 and performs the same -functions of bringing the toweling T from its container C up through the spreader device 220` and the ironing section 16, between the ironing `shoes 42, .42 and the rolls 4S., 48', to the windup shaft 112, for engaging the leading edge of the towelright end.` (IFIGL. l). Of course, the operator can option- ,4

ally startthe operation by 'placing' the toweling' upon bar 80 and then bring itunder rolls-92, 92 and upwardly beweenlthe ironing shoes and rolls to the wind-up shaft 112, but it is not as easy nor as'practical to'begin theoperation in this'rnanner.`iI"` The." foot pedalA double switch-196 is then pressed by i ing T upon the shaft. The operator then presses upon the second foot pedal switch 196, closing the power circuit to the wind-up and blower fan motors of the second machine and moves back to the first machine. The foot pedal switch 196 is of a construction that holds the circuit to the motors and 100 closed until pressed a second time by the operator. Or, the switch may be of the type that is responsive to the load imposed upon the motor 120 so that when the toweling is drawn fully into roll form on shaft 112, the reduction in load signals the switch 196 to open and halt rotation of shaft 112 and blower motor 100. The automatic shut-olf element which can be used for the motors 120l and 100 is of conventional construction and forms part of the control switch 196.

l- During the time consumed in setting the toweling in the second machine, the first machine completes its towel ironing and roll-up and comes to a stop. The operator shifts the control lever of the first machine, actuating valve 128 and charging compressed air into conduit 162 and air cylinder 122, moving the piston pin 124- and the push plate 126 outwardly against the wound-up roll of toweling, to force it off the shaft 1112. Upon removal of the roll by the operator, the first machine is ready for its next bundle of moist toweling, and othe operation is repeated.

Normally, the heater units 42, 42 are energized at the beginning of a work period by closing switches to the temperature control rheostats 196, 188, so that the heater units are maintained at proper ironing temperature throughout the work period.

The ironing shoes 42, 42 are made of a suitable metal and finished to a smoothness that will produce a smoothly ironed toweling. The ironing rollers 48, 48 are cylinders of metal mounted on shafts and covered with a suitable padding material and an outer covering of fabric conventionally used in ironing fabric toweling. The contour of the ironing face of the ironing shoe contains a longitudinally extending recess adapted to complement the curvature of the roller.

Although certain particular embodiments of the invention are hereindisclosed for purposes of explanation, further modifications thereof, after study of this specification, will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Reference should be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. An improved machine for ironing and rolling continuous moist toweling of substantial length comprising in combination:

structural framing forming a housing,

a `base for said housing and for said toweling,

towel ironing means supported by said housing above said base,

and a towel roll-up mechanism supported by said housing, said towel ironing means comprising an ironing shoe mechanism supported by and outboard of said housing and comprising:

at least one horizontally disposed electrically heated ironing shoe,

an ironing shoe housing supporting said ironing shoe and pivotally mounted upon said housing,

a rotatable idler towel ironing roller for each said ironing shoe and mounted complementarily and in alignment therewith,

said ironing shoe having a towel ironing surface contoured to complement the surface contour of said ironing roller,

said ironing shoe housing enclosing means mounted upon and for electrically heating each said ironing shoe,

first compressed air cylinder means mounted on said structural framing and pivotally conjoined to said ironing shoe housing for pivoting said latter housing away from said ironing roller to provide access for introducing said toweling therebetween, and toward said ironing roller to bring the latter into bearing contact upon said toweling and against said heated ironing shoe,

said towel roll-up mechanism comprising:

a rotatable towel roll-up shaft supported for rotation outboard of said structural framing and in vertical alignment with said towel ironing means, said roll-up shaft having a recessed portion of a toweling retaining bar secured to said shaft thereover and spaced therefrom a distance suicient to closely receive and removably engage an edge of said toweling,

and power means supported by said housing and connected to said roll-up shaft for rotating said shaft,

and rolled toweling push-off mechanism comprising:

second compressed air cylinder means mounted on said structural framing,

a push plate supported outwardly of said structural framing and substantially about said towel roll-up shaft adjacent the proximal end thereof, and conjoined to said second air cylinder means,

and control means for actuating said second air cylinder means to push said rolled toweling from said roll-up shaft.

2. The machine dened in claim 1, wherein said first and second compressed air cylinder means are secured within and to said housing, said means having piston pins projecting through openings in said housing to distal positions outwardly thereof.

3. The machine defined in claim 1, and including:

an air blower secured to said ironing shoe housing and directed toward said toweling in the open area between said towel ironing means and said towel roll-up mechanism thereabove,

and electric power means for driving said air blower.

4. The machine defined in claim 3, and including means for heating the air utilized by said air fblower and discharge therefrom.

5. The machine defined in claims 1 and 3, and including electric power circuitry comprising:

a circuit portion connected to and serving said ironing shoe electrical heating means,

and a circuit portion connected to and serving said roll-up shaft power rotating means and said air blower power driving means.

6. The machine defined in claim 3, wherein:

said ironing shoe and complementary ironing roller are horizontally disposed,

and said towel roll-up shaft is horizontally disposed in vertical alignment above and spaced from said subironing means a distance sufficient to permit substantial evaporation of moisture lfrom said toweling when heated by said ironing means and struck by air blown from said air blower before said toweling is rolled upon said roll-up shaft.

7. The machine defined in claim 5, wherein said toweling is drawn through said ironing means by rotation of said towel roll-up shaft.

8. The machine defined in claim 1, and including ro- .atable roller means for guiding said toweling into position between said ironing roller and said ironing shoe.

9. A duplex machine for ironing and rolling continuous moist toweling of substantial length comprising in combination structural framing forming a housing,

a base for said housing and for said toweling, towel ironing means supported by said housing disposed at each of two opposed sides thereof above said base, and complementary towel roll-up mechanism supported by said housing for each of said towel ironing means, each said towel ironing means comprising an ironing shoe mechanism supported by and outboard of said housing and comprising:

at least one horizontally disposed electrically heated ironing shoe, an ironing shoe housing supporting said ironing shoe and pivotally mounted upon said housing, a rotatable idler towel ironing roller for each said ironing shoe and mounted complementarily and in alignment therewith, said ironing shoe having a towel ironing surface contoured to complement the surface contour of said ironing roller, said ironing shoe housing enclosing means mounted upon and for electrically heating each said ironing shoe, first compressed air cylinder means mounted on said structural framing and pivotally conjoined to said ironing shoe housing for pivoting said latter housing away from said ironing roller to provide access for introducing said toweling therebetween, and toward said ironing roller to bring the latter into bearing contact upon said toweling and against said heated ironing shoe, each said towel roll-up mechanism comprising:

a rotatable towel roll-up shaft supported for rotation outboard of said structural framing and in vertical alignment with said towel ironing means, said roll-upshaft having a recessed portion and a toweling retaining bar secured to said shaft thereover and spaced therefrom a distance suicient to closely receive and removably engage an edge of said toweling,

and power means supported by said housing and connected to said roll-up shaft for rotating said shaft,

rolled toweling push-oit mechanism for each said towel roll-up mechanism comprising:

second compressed air cylinder means mounted on said structural framing,

a push plate supported outwardly of said structural framing and substantially about said towel roll-up shaft adjacent the proximal end thereof, and conjoined to said second air cylinder means, and control means for actuating said second air in vertical alignment above and spaced from said towel ironing means a distance sufficient to permit substantial evaporation of moisture from said toweling when heated by said ironing means and struck by air blown from said air blower before said toweling is rolled upon said roll-up shaft.

12. The duplex machine defined in claim 9, wherein each said towel spreading mechanism comprises:

a supporting housing secured to said Structural framing and extending outwardly therefrom in substantially vertical alignment with and below each said towel ironing means,

a rotatable idler towel beater roll horizontally supported byl said latter housing and adapted to intermittently strike said toweling as it issues from said base,

a towel tensioning rotatable roll, above said beater roll, horizontally supported by said latter housing, and a pair of rotatable inwardly tapering rolls horizontally supported by said latter housing above said tensioning roll and adapted to spread said toweling as it advances from said tensioning 1'011 to said towel ironing means.

13. The duplex machine defined in claim 12, wherein cylinder means to push said rolled toweling from said roll-up shaft, and towel spreading mechanism disposed below each said towel ironing means for spreading said moist toweling as it issues from said base and advances to said towel ironing means. 10. The duplex machine defined in claim 9, and including:

an air blower secured to eachfsaid ironing shoe housing and directed toward said toweling in the open said pair of rotatable inwardly tapering rolls are spaced slightly apart from each other and are provided with spiraling curved ridges on their conical surfaces.

14. The duplex machine defined in claim 12, wherein said towel spreading mechanism comprises a substantially semi-automatic device for spreading said toweling.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS area between said towel ironing means and said 2,295,955 9/ 1942 Page 38--2 X towel roll-up mechanism thereabove. gVelS T-1 38:82 dl f d" h d' i auusea. i anbloeweecrnc power means Or/ nvmg eac Sal au. 3,399,471 9/ 1968 Kessler et al. :38- 2 11. The duplex machine defined in claim 10, wherein:

said ironing shoe and complementary ironing roller 40 are horizontally disposed,

and said towel roll-up shaft is horizontally disposed MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

